Tag Archives: advanced media issues

Contemporary forms of music publishing and journalism have taken rapid leaps in recent years. We have seen multi-platform journalism become an industry standard, and music blogs become the source of all new music. These mediums are industries are rapidly transforming, as technology evolves, and with it, society moves forward. However, the argument that journalism and music are dying are rendered completely false. The ‘frames’ by which we see these industries and modes have simply shifted.

Music is not enjoyed any less than it has in the past. We are being exposed to more new forms, styles and genres of music than ever before. Music is the artwork, but the literal frame around it has simply shifted to a more accessible medium than albums and record stores. Especially since public knowledge has become that music piracy is not as damaging as in perceived, accessing and downloading music online has become the norm. However, it is not the piracy aspect that is the main agenda. Revolutionary forms of access to music through blogs, social media and various networks shows that music’s demand has seen it transcend the record store or the music label. Not simply a demand from listeners but a demand by artists and producers to publish their own works.

Similarly, journalism has seen a demand in content across all mediums, not just print. Readers want not only the latest news, but they want it as soon as it breaks. Journalists now favour speed and response time of a story as opposed to quality, which can be worked on later. Readers would rather watch a 30 second video of a breaking story right as it happens, rather than an in depth analysis later that night.

The framing of journalism has dramatically shifted, where it has become ‘transversal’, not limited to any one traditional form. Likewise music may become even more transversal than it has become, as we see publishing across all industries become a right not a privilege.

Media art covers a a lot of ground, and spans across multiple styles, genres and even industries. What the average person perceives as media art differs from that of someone involved in media studies and production. Therefore it can be said that media art needs considerable backing from various institutions to be produced and published, and experienced by the mainstream population.

One of the most impressive recent installations of media art that I have seen is a 3D projection mapping skateboard ramp <http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/tron-3d-projection-mapping-skateboarding-ramp-session/&gt;. This installation coincided with the release of the movie “Tron: Legacy”. However, would this be considered art? It served a purpose in promoting the movie, and functionally, it added a another dimension of activity to the individuals skating the installation. “It’s like you’re in a computer game in real life” – one of the skaters said. The piece was aesthetically pleasing, but according to the individual, added an extra sensation to the experience.

This idea is linked to the way sensation is felt in our lives, in society and various communities. This is reminiscent of virtuality and virtual worlds, where the individual has escaped “reality” for a moment, in order to pursue something else through aesthetics and sensation, while still remaining part of this world. The idea behind ‘Intimate Transactions” <http://www.embodiedmedia.com/#/page/details&gt; is the same. In this case, two individuals, are part of a new ecology that is reliant upon themselves and their actions. They escape to a new community, a new reality, where their actions have consequences in that specific new community.

Perhaps, if media art can be accessed by the mainstream population, society can gain a sense of consequence for their actions. Even though for only a moment, stuck in a virtual reality, individuals can become reliant on only themselves or one other person, and access a reality that they have not before known. Art and media and not always perceived as linked, but if that perception can change, we as society can grow to appreciate and learn what could be in store for us in the future.

Micropolitics is the use of power to achieve a goal within an organization. How can this concept come into play outside of what we see as an organisation?

Micropolitics play a role in society and media use. We use our power to achieve our goals, but our goals are not always beneficial. Manning (2009) says that affective politics are not moral politics. What influences society is not always seen as right.

Just as the earth is polluted by chemicals and global warming becomes a concern, micropoliticians rise up to stand against the destruction of the planet. Protesters rally in the streets, and sometimes riots ensue, chaos occurs. These micropoliticans are not doing anything wrong in their own eyes, they are fighting for a cause, but to society, they are perpetuating violence.

Take P2P networks – used on a worldwide scale. They are used for a purpose and a benefit, but are deemed immoral because they more often than not, break the law. They promote piracy and stealing, but the micropoliticians at the heart of these networks use the power of their connectedness to promote sharing and free flow of information.

One last example. Only a few weeks ago a video was posted to YouTube where a bigger schoolboy was retaliating against a smaller bully who was abusing him. Both boys were suspended from school. This conduct, posting fights on the internet is anti-social behaviour, but many in the community see this incident as a wake up call to the presence of bullying in schools. The school as an organisation, and the boys as micropoliticians, saw a position of power being used by the bigger boy to achieve a goal which may have been ‘immoral’, but benefited a wider community.

Throughout society, we are faced with obstacles which can be overcome by a collective power of change. Whether it’s global warming, or violence, a politics without barriers allows us to achieve goals that may be beneficial to society, and this micropolitical mindset helps us understand the purpose behind this.

Bibliography

Manning, E (2009) ‘From Biopolitics to the Biogram, or How Leni Riefenstahl Moves through Fascism’ in Relationscapes

For me, VR’s integration into the consumer market has flown under the radar, but after reading the GigantiCo blog on Augmented Reality, I have realised that products are out there and ready to be consumed. Although they may not be exactly how virtual reality is portrayed in movies such as Avatar and Tron, they are taking those leaps towards the future.

However, it seems as if VR and augmented reality have not taken off, perhaps as desired, due to their being ‘ahead of time’. I can liken this to the release of the iPad, which by some (including Molly Wood of CNET) was said to be a product ‘ahead of it’s time’. The technology was there, but the correct application of technology, and the market to consume it, was not. The iPad ended up being a hit, despite it’s lack of features (no camera, multi-tasking, poor graphics). People bought the product but didn’t know how to use it. Not all newspapers were accessible on the iPad, there was no GPS, and web browsing was difficult due to no Flash compatibility. The release of iPad 2, in a sense, opened up the ‘virtual’ to the consumer. GPS and compass features made the iPad much more usable. Although I am comparing the iPad release to VR products, the iPad itself facilitates the ‘virtual’ for consumers. Owners/users are able to step into the iPad for it’s navigation purposes and become part of an “extended mind” (Andy Clark, 1997).

In linking this to media theory, the ‘network society’ we are part of, stimulates the proliferation of technology, but as Guattari said back in 1989

“All existing theoretical bodies of this type share the shortcoming of being closed to the possibility of creative proliferation”

We demand technology at such rapid pace, that innovative products are being released that are simply unusable or undesirable, because of our lack of technical knowledge. If technology was as advanced as we wanted it to be, VR would be a part of our everyday lives. It has the potential to be something we use daily, but it won’t be until the ‘network society’ adapts to the technology, and VR becomes something more than an exciting marvel.

Fuller expresses ‘Media Ecologies’ as an “interrelation of processes … of beings … and matter”. I like this interpretation, as media ecologies are exactly that. The ‘ecology’ aspect being, it’s interaction with the living things around it, including us as humans, and the other living things around us. When looking at ecology, you must look at the things around you. I’m fascinated with the idea that media shapes the thing around us. Why are we in a certain place doing a certain thing? Why not somewhere else? Does media decide what we do, and where we do it?

It is known fact that media has changed the way we live our everyday lives. There are certain aspects of our lives however, that are not only changed, but maintained by media, and thus a media ecology is formed.

The idea of ‘feedback loops’ is raised in the ‘Games as a Happening, as a Service’ blog post. The author, Tomas, states that with certain games, particularly, MMO’s, players’ activity encourages more people to play. This concept of a media event creating loops, linking back to that same event is very familiar in it’s nature. I immediately think of online forums when considering feedback and feedforward loops. What people contribute to forums is very influential in our practices. For example, researching a product online before buying it may lead you to a forum relating to that product. You will read and take on board the comments about that product (good or bad) and thus make you decision on whether to by that particular thing. However, within forums, there are few boundaries of opinion, so pretty much anything can be said. What people say will to an extent influence your decision, whether true or false. You will make you purchasing decision on those opinions. You may then contribute for yourself about the product, once bought and give your own take on it, further influencing what people to come, will think of the product and whether they choose to buy it or not.

We see that within media ecologies, experiences are created by our own interactions with media. It’s astounding to see that most of the time, we don’t recognise that our own contributions shape our experiences.

We are introduced to many new concepts through the Murphy reading, which provide a framework in analysing the way in which media (and particularly, technology) interact with the change of culture, society and politics.

Technological determinism is one theory which proscribes the ability of technology to trigger social change. This concept stands out to me, especially because of the way society interacts with technology in discussion and in participation of current affairs. It seems that technological determinism is at the forefront of mediated society at present. I think of the way in which Twitter is being used to co-ordinate and inform both public and private spheres. In San Francisco, Iraq war protesters used Twitter to keep fellow activists informed of their movements throughout the day. In doing so, protesters avoided the use of walk-talkies or mobile phones which would often lead to arrest. What we see here is a bypass of social pressure, where technology has followed a logic of it’s own. McLuhan argues that technologies are extensions of human capacities, and we can clearly see that in this example, where technology has not merely given us a new medium, but a new mechanism with which to work.

Langdon Winner believes that technology is not what matters most, but the social or economic system in which it resides. This is true, in application to my example, where Twitter is not the driving force behind the protest that took place, rather the use of this technology to attract a cultural and political response. This protest made headlines because of it’s manipulative yet very open strategy. Anyone can now view the Twitter posts throughout the protest, and the movement is now ‘public property’ to an extent.

It is fascinating how politics and culture influence the way technology is pursued and developed, in a society that in fact relies greatly on it’s advancement.